I'm not good a predicting how a bloom will turn out. I keep making
crosses to get an indication of how heritable some traits may be. E.g.
are all or most of the results using two parents with open standards
going to show more of the same - that sort of thing.

I think sdlg #1 here might look different next year. A lot of those
pigment concentrations occurred this year among the ABs and on some
where it hasn't before. I think the weather effects whether and how
much you see it in any give year, but some plants are definitely more
prone to the _expression_ than others. I don't care for it much, but in
the years when it is more prevalent, the blooms among all the plants is
more intense. I might have liked #1 without the marks and I
emphatically liked the beard which is a dark black red that matched the
signal underneath it.

#2 was my favorite. That color is sort of a black cherry and the beard
was an even darker black-red than the one on #1. The biggest problem
for me on this seedling were falls that were a bit narrow at the
shoulders had a tendency fold down on the shoulders. Not every bloom
did this, but enough to distract me. Another trait like the chin dimple
or falls that fold altogether that I find a bit disagreeable.
Nonetheless, I found #2 appealing.

#3 was nice. No obvious things for me to pick at. Just a bright
cheerful yellow with a distinct signal pattern. That pattern was highly
freckled and the debris field across the shoulders and around the
pattern was more distinct than the photo indicates.

On maiden bloom, all had strong stalks and good substance. #2 & #3 were
quite tall this year, but most things that bloomed this year grew a lot
taller than usual, so I may have seen the upper limits of the height
they could potentially reach.